


In Plain Sight

by NancyBrown



Category: Torchwood
Genre: M/M, Secretly a Time Lord, Torchwood Cliche Fest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-28
Updated: 2012-01-28
Packaged: 2017-10-30 06:22:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/328735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NancyBrown/pseuds/NancyBrown
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The fob watch lay unassumingly on Jack's desk blotter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Plain Sight

**Author's Note:**

> trope: secretly a Time Lord

Martha and Jack were alone in Jack's office with the door tightly shut. Both sets of eyes watched the thing on his desk. Watched, hah, she thought.

"You know what this is."

"That's why I called you in," he said. "I was pretty sure, but you've seen two of them."

The fob watch lay unassumingly on the desk blotter, its patina of age nearly hiding the delicate scrollwork on the case, mysterious symbols that whispered what hid nestled within.

She didn't touch it. "Where did you find it?"

"Funny thing. It's been in the archives for two years, got logged in with a bunch of items that all arrived around the same time." His eyes weren't on the watch, though. Jack looked out his window. The others worked like ants outside. Martha couldn't help but notice his gaze following two of his employees in particular. She'd seen their records the last time she'd been here. Both had been hired two years ago.

"They're your friends," she ventured carefully. "If the watch belongs to one of them, you already know them both, Jack. They'd never hurt you."

"And Dr. Yana was a nice old man."

Martha shivered. She hadn't dealt with the worst of the Master's tantrums, only seen the results. Jack was terrified that one of the people he was close to might turn out to be a mad Time Lord (or Lady) and Martha certainly couldn't tell him differently.

"I hope it's her," Jack said.

"You do?" She wouldn't have expected that, but she hadn't been here in some time. Maybe things had changed.

"I'm wrong. A Fact. The Doctor said so. And the Master." He shifted uncomfortably in his chair. The Master had said many terrible things about Jack's condition. "They can sense me, and they hate it. If I had to choose," he said, looking out the window again, "and I don't want to have to choose, but if I did, I'd rather Gwen be the one who wants to vomit every time she's in a room with me. Or worse, the one who goes off to see the galaxy without me." He laughed, a little, unhappy. "Don't tell."

"Quiet as the grave, me." She moved around the desk to stand beside him. She took his hand. "Do we open it? Or do we let it stay in the archives and never know?"

Jack stared for a long moment into space. "What do you think?"

"I'd normally say better a known threat than an unknown threat, but like you said, Dr. Yana was a sweet old man."

"We open it." His voice was firm. "If we've got another fob-watched Time Lord we need to know. Get ready to make a phone call." He scooped up the watch. Martha followed him out to the main part of the Hub. The rest continued working. Above them, the pteranodon launched from her aerie, gliding around in the shadowy darkness near the ceiling.

Jack cleared his throat and got their attention.

"What's going on?" Gwen asked, approaching carefully, her eyes on Jack's hand. Ianto stood behind her, frowning. Owen made his way up the stairs. Tosh stayed in her chair, but twisted around to see what was happening.

Jack glanced at Martha. Then he popped open the watch.

For a second, nothing happened. She almost allowed herself hope this wasn't what they'd thought. Golden tendrils of light emerged from the watch. Damn.

The Hub's power conduits overloaded with the immense energy discharge, sending sparks out before the lights went dark.

"Everybody stay still!" Jack shouted, but seconds later, there was a loud thump.

The emergency lights clicked on. Martha scanned the faces around her, her heart racing. Who was it? How terrible of a thing had they just unleashed?

A large, dark lump lay on the floor, eerie in the low light, and rising before them now.

Jack dropped the watch from slack fingers. "You ... "

"Oh dear. Apparently, we need to talk," said Myfanwy.


End file.
